Allan Beswick

Allan Beswick is a radio broadcaster who used to present the breakfast show on BBC Radio Manchester in Manchester.[1]

He now presents the late night phone in on BBC Radio Manchester and BBC Radio Lancashire. Prior to becoming a radio presenter, Beswick worked as a soldier, a bus driver and a mental health nurse and for the Citizen's Advice Bureau; during his time at the C.A.B. he began to appear as a guest on Dave Lincoln and Friends, a programme on 194 Radio City, an independent commercial station in Liverpool.[2] In the mid to late eighties, he worked for Lancashire station Red Rose Radio where he initially presented an afternoon show which won him a Sony national radio award. He then presented a late-night phone-in The Allan Beswick Late Night Show.[3] which drew listeners and controversy in nearly equal measure. His listening figures for this late night slot often drew audiences equal to those of many radio stations breakfast shows. The overall 'audience reach' of the programme drew in the region of 100,000 listeners per night, but a total listenership across the North West, West Yorkshire and North Wales often approached 500,000 listeners.

He was well known for his straight-talking, uncompromising style, ability to argue his case stubbornly, and penchant for insulting callers with whom he disagreed or didn't like. He was also known for his on-air professed dislike of Liverpudlians ("scousers"), which perversely made him extremely popular with Liverpool listeners, as they felt he typified woollybacks - people from outside the city - and all that was wrong with them. He has since said it was an act and he has no problem with Merseysiders. Other groups to incur his ire were train spotters. Callers were met usually with the introduction of 'How do'. The show ran from 10pm-2am Monday through Friday, with the first hour usually having music content, which turned virtually exclusively to talk after the 11pm news.

The show 'or programme' as he referred to it, drew comparisons with similar late night northern based late night phone in shows with James Whale at Red Rose radio's sister station Radio Aire in Leeds, and James H Reeve at Piccadilly Radio in Manchester.

During the Red Rose era he released in limited quantities 2 'Best of cassettes' and one single record. 'Beswick's big blue cassette' featuring some of the funniest callers to the show or programme.

During his time at Red Rose Radio, Beswick also hosted a Sunday morning call in game show called 'Its Your Turn.' His assistant was credited as Wobbly Warren.

He released Jehovah's Witness At The Door for 'Guide Cats For The Blind' in 2008

An on-air incident led to his being banned for a period by the Independent Broadcasting Authority for being abusive to a caller. Red Rose held a ballot to see if he should be re-instated, which he subsequently was. This second coming lasted about a year. He soon moved to BBC Radio Manchester where he now presents the breakfast show. In April 2007 a humorous comment Beswick made about the death of Alan Ball on a lunchtime broadcast drew complaints, resulting in an apology both from the BBC and Beswick himself.[3]

Beswick has also worked on Radio 5 live, presenting late night sporadically in the early part of the last decade, and on television, including presenting "Beswick's Beat", a local current affairs segment on North West Tonight.[2]

On February 2, 2015 Allan will be taking over the networked late show on BBC Radios Manchester and Lancashire. The on air trailer suggests the show will include at least some phone in.